Five years after its launch aboard an Atlas V rocket, which left Cape Canaveral, and after traveling 716 million kilometers to 320,000 km per hour, the Juno spacecraft was ready this morning to be captured by the gravitational embrace of the most gigantic members solar family. This is Jupiter, the huge ball composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, and more than 60 moons, which shaped much of our cosmic neighborhood.
Located five times the distance between Earth sun, the lord of the planets is a failed star. 4500 million years ago, in the infancy of the Solar System, it brought together a huge cloud of gas and dust and doubled stellar mass to all other planets and asteroids combined. But as big as its size is the fascination that cause its mysteries. For example, its electromagnetic field, which multiplies 18,000 times that of Earth. And its structure: it is believed that could have a layer of metallic hydrogen, which does not exist in the Earth’s geography, and a solid core, indicating that slowly formed, like other planets, not in a burst of gravity, as the stars.
Juno, which is named after the wife and sister of the mythological god, was sent to answer these questions. From today, and for 20 months will be devoted to listening to Jupiter from a highly elliptical polar orbit to avoid the ravages that the Jovian magnetosphere and its intense radiation could inflict on their computers.
“What you are special this mission ‘says astronomer Diego Bagú, a director of the Planetarium of La Plata is that the probe be closer than ever to the surface layers of the planet, until about 4160 km, which is impressive in cosmic terms. We think that a commercial airliner flies to 10 km high. “
Juno reaches orbit around the gas giant after several other probes, among which is Galileo, which she visited him in 1995 and flew from its satellites. Navy eight instruments traveling within a thick vault of titanium to protect them from radiation, will rotate ten times closer than any of the nine probes that visited before, will map its magnetic field and try to unlock the secrets of their auroras.
Agustín Sánchez Lavega, professor at the University of the Basque Country, explains El País that Juno is not only to resolve how Jupiter’s magnetic field is generated, “the most intense of the solar system,” but also “explore the possibility that some of its moons, such as Europe, hostel life and assess the amount of water that keeps its atmosphere because its enormous mass allowed to keep their original more or less intact composition “.
If It is considering that most of the extrasolar planets are gas giants, records that send the probe will be key to elucidate mysteries of worlds beyond.
Juno is also the first mission that goes so far solar powered, a rarity among those sent into deep space, in regions receiving 25 times less light than the Earth. Until now, he had always chosen propulsion plutonium-238.
In autopilot since last Thursday, the insertion maneuver was started 18 minutes after midnight and presented technological difficulties of the first order.
After point their panels in the opposite our star and locate its engine in the right position to slow direction, must spend two to five rotations per minute to be captured by the planet’s orbit.
“it’s brave thing -comenta from Mexico, where he is to give a talk, Miguel San Martin, Argentine engineer who was responsible for the decline of Curiosity on Mars, but interesting. not only the magnetic field, but also the radiation is very harmful for the cameras and all the instruments that keeps the probe. it is not common design for this requirement. “
San Martin explains, Juno had to use the power of its panels solar to operate all the electronics of the vehicle in those places where the sun’s radiation is very tenuous. “To place the insertion maneuver, the panels should point out the Sun line and use their clarifies batteries. It had to be downloaded, terminate the activities planned and immediately point the panels to the sun before the basterías become extinct. it is a dramatic moment,. to put it in some way, the ship bleeds “
on the British rocket that lets you correct the course and get into position to enter orbit was only the first step in a process which will last months.
As explained by George Musser in Scientific American, the engine is set for ignition 35 minutes to reduce the speed of Juno, about 58 km per second, one percent.
the first two orbits last for 54 days each and will carry the ship, first, to 4500 km above the clouds, and then launch up to 8.1 million kilometers away. During the maneuver, scientific instruments will be turned off and only sound signals transmitted through the antenna receive security.
“Log on Mars is extremely demanding ‘says St. Martin. There are so many mechanical events that have to be perfectly … But also in this case will be minutes of terror. None of these maneuvers forgive. If for some reason the engine braking the ship was turned off before 35 minutes, would be catapulted back into the Jovian system never to return. If you run for at least 20 minutes, there can be saved. “
on the other hand, as the messages between the probe and the ground-based delay 48 minutes to arrive, it would be impossible send corrections. “Of all modes adds San Martin, Juno has” survival instinct “. If their teams are reset by radiation, is scheduled to return to” up “your system One hundred percent never sure what will pass, is a time of much suspense, and that’s the beauty. to advance the frontiers of knowledge must take risks, but the fruit is fantastic, worth it. “
in mid-October, Juno reignite its thrusters to move into an orbit that will allow you to visit the planet every 14 days. “It is coming and it shoots -ilustra Bagú-. At 14 days again.”
This allows you to complete 37 laps and many scientific measurements until February 20, 2018, when the mission of 1,100,000,000 dollars, he immolate in the Jovian atmosphere.
a singular fact is that one of the principal investigators of the Juno mission is a young astrophysics Argentina, Yamila Miguel. “He did his doctorate at the University of La Plata and postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg ‘says Bagú-. A year ago, is in the Observatory of the Cote d’Azur, France, where he specialized in the study of the formation of systems planetariums and, especially, of the gas giants. “
” beyond the scientific, technological challenge of this mission is superlative concludes Bagú-. it is amazing what they accomplished. it is the space adventure of the year. “
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